Hello, my name is Jack.\u00a0 Going home can be amazing.\u00a0 It can be scary.\u00a0 It can be sad.\u00a0 There are so many emotions, all dependent on how you left.\u00a0 For the prodigal son, you can be afraid, praying your parents will accept you back.\u00a0 For the conquering hero, you expect family and friends to say how proud they are of you.\u00a0 For every kind of person, there is another hope or worry.\u00a0 Few go home looking for trouble.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The limo dropped out of the sky towards International Falls, winds flowing off the lake to stream over her fairings.\u00a0 His eyes scanned the town below, playing over where the theatre once towered over downtown, the convenience store\u2019s sprawl near the last remaining traffic light, and the small town hall.\u00a0 That was all before Yosemite.\u00a0 After the station fell all over America\u2019s western States, it had been piles of rubble, shrouded in smoke and fire.\u00a0 After twenty years it was different again.\u00a0 The town was alive and bustling, but the buildings were wrong.\u00a0 They hadn\u2019t rebuilt.\u00a0 They\u2019d simply built new<\/em> buildings.\u00a0 This wasn\u2019t the International Falls he\u2019d grown up in.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t home.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure about this,\u201d he whispered and licked his lips, trying to settle his nerves.<\/p>\n Taylor leaned against his right arm.\u00a0 \u201cWe weren\u2019t the first time either.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d Jennifer added with a comforting smile.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll be here all the way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks,\u201d Jack whispered, far more willing to follow their lead than anyone who knew him in the past would have believed.\u00a0 He\u2019d<\/em> always been the troublemaker after all.\u00a0 He smiled as he remembered all the parents he\u2019d drove to drinking.<\/p>\n \u201cPenny for your thoughts,\u201d Taylor said into his ear with a tickling breath.<\/p>\n Jack snorted and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cJust remembering all the trouble you two dragged me into back in the day.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUs?\u201d Taylor asked, her face showing innocent outrage.<\/p>\n \u201cDrag you<\/em> into trouble?\u201d Jennifer added with a smack to his shoulder.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Jack returned in a serene tone as he assumed an innocent demeanor.\u00a0 \u201cPoor innocent me, tempted into corruption by the seductive temptresses of my youth.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHah!\u201d Taylor shouted and slapped his hand.<\/p>\n Jack shook his head and gave them a serious look.\u00a0 \u201cThis really isn\u2019t<\/em> the best idea we\u2019ve ever had, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t be silly,\u201d Jennifer corrected.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ll be happy to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack snorted.\u00a0 \u201cSeriously.\u00a0 There\u2019s no red ribbon ceremonies for guys like me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d Taylor whispered in a tone that made him instantly suspicious.<\/p>\n \u201cNow that you mention it,\u201d Jennifer added teasingly.<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Jack growled, glaring back and forth between them with a mix of surprise and\u2026outrage.\u00a0 That confused him.<\/p>\n They just smiled at him.<\/p>\n Jack closed his eyes and pulled in a long breath.\u00a0 \u201cBetty?\u00a0 Can we turn around?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSorry, Jack,\u201d Betty answered, her amused tone putting the lie to her words.\u00a0 \u201cBut the town would be disappointed if you pulled a hooky on them.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack snorted and found his mouth twisting at the humor of her statement.\u00a0 \u201cLike they\u2019d be surprised,\u201d he offered up, partly as a final plea.<\/p>\n \u201cAh, but you\u2019ve become a respectable Officer, Marine, and Cowboy since then,\u201d Betty somehow managed with a straight face.<\/p>\n Jack\u2019s eyes snapped open and he aimed a horrified and hurt look at her.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2026wound me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere, there, Jack,\u201d Betty noted with a shrug and a sly smile.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019ll only hurt a little if you just accept it.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack looked back and forth between the three faces, looking for some support.\u00a0 He found none.\u00a0 \u201cVery well,\u201d he said with all the gravity of a man being led to the gallows.\u00a0 \u201cTake me now, and I shall follow you even unto Perdition\u2019s flames.\u201d<\/p>\n Jennifer slapped his hand.\u00a0 \u201cIt won\u2019t be that bad, silly.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack sighed and leaned back into the seat, preparing himself for the boredom to follow.\u00a0 When the limo came to a stop though, he heard the Battle Hymn of the Republic through the close doors.\u00a0 Jack paused for a moment, listening, and nodded in approval.\u00a0 The band was playing it well.\u00a0 He pushed the door open and stepped out to see the small marching band in the Falls High purple and gold uniforms.\u00a0 They stood before a small outdoor stage in front of the town hall, a flag with a bronco fluttering above them.\u00a0 Jack smiled at the school mascot and let out a long breath of approval.<\/p>\n Then his eyes shifted to take in the few hundred people standing in the town square, milling about and waiting for the ceremony to begin.\u00a0 Some of them he recognized, men and women he\u2019d looked up to, or tried to sneak around, when he was younger.\u00a0 But most of them were complete strangers.\u00a0 Just like the town.<\/p>\n He pulled his eyes over to the cheerleading squad bouncing in time to the music in a way that pretty much any guy would like.\u00a0 They were very young, very flexible, and oh so pretty.\u00a0 A pretty face had always given him a reason to stand up tall.\u00a0 A pretty caboose too, which these girls most certainly had.<\/p>\n Jack perked up and decided it was time to the make the best of a bad situation.\u00a0 He stepped towards their line, gave them a charming smile, and brought a hand up to tip his hat towards them.\u00a0 \u201cMa\u2019ams.\u201d<\/p>\n A few of the cheerleaders giggled at him.\u00a0 A few others gave him measuring looks, and he had the feeling that they\u2019d be happy to party.\u00a0 Most of the rest just shook their heads in good-natured amusement, recognizing a shameless flirt when they saw one.<\/p>\n Two sets of arms grabbed him from behind and began to pull him away from the squad.\u00a0 Jack put on a show of struggling against Taylor and Jennifer, and a larger show of regretting that he could not win against their superior strength.\u00a0 The cheerleaders laughed at the spectacle he was making of himself.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, what do you know?\u201d Taylor growled in a low tone.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was<\/em> a bad idea,\u201d Jennifer added, shaking her head.<\/p>\n \u201cI told yah,\u201d Jack said with a smile.<\/p>\n \u201cHush,\u201d Taylor whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cWe weren\u2019t talking to you,\u201d Jennifer finished as they pulled him behind the stag to where the town staff were preparing for the ceremony.<\/p>\n \u201cStill misbehaving I see,\u201d a much older voice said and Jack\u2019s eyes went wide.<\/p>\n He disentangled himself from their arms as gracefully as he could, straightened his Dress White tunic, and turned to face the source of that voice.\u00a0 A disapproving look he remember well covered the woman\u2019s face, and she crossed her arms in a way that suggested she was considering throwing him back into the lake.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Jack answered and she pursed her lips at him.\u00a0 Taylor and Jennifer slapped the back of his head, hard.\u00a0 \u201cNo, Ma\u2019am,\u201d he corrected without missing a beat.\u00a0 \u201cWouldn\u2019t think of it, Ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight.\u201d\u00a0 She shook her head with a knowing look before jerking her head to the side.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re waiting on you.\u00a0 So shoo and give me some time with my girls,\u201d she ordered in one of the few voices that had ever made Jack move without thinking.\u00a0 Along side such vaunted members of the human race as his mom and his drill instructor.\u00a0 Or Betty on a bad day.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d he said and smiled at Taylor and Jennifer as he walked towards where the city staff were preparing.<\/p>\n \u201cJack,\u201d Betty whispered through the small speaker in his ear, and his contacts flashed to get his attention.\u00a0 He followed the flash and saw someone waiting with two suited men that froze him in his steps, his mouth agape.\u00a0 Then he brought his hand up to the brim of his cowboy hat, came to attention, and held the best salute he\u2019d done in years.<\/p>\n The first President of the United States that he\u2019d ever paid attention to smiled and returned his salute.\u00a0 Twenty years ago, the Junior Senator from Colorado had come down with a particularly virulent form of the flue that had resisted every drug they had.\u00a0 Then the Shang bombarded Washington DC during a Presidential address to the full Congress of the United States, and the fall of Yosemite killed the designated survivor in Los Angeles.\u00a0 He still remembered the gaunt and tired face she\u2019d presented to the public that night, when she spoke from her Colorado hospital as the acting President.\u00a0 She looked better now, though time had aged her.<\/p>\n \u201cMadam President,\u201d Jack said in a clear tone, trying to keep the shock from his voice.<\/p>\n \u201cCaptain Hart,\u201d she answered with an amused glint that showed he hadn\u2019t quite managed it.\u00a0 \u201cCome on over,\u201d she ordered and he stepped up to her without hesitation.\u00a0 She smiled and leaned over to whisper into his ear.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to talk.\u00a0 I\u2019ll find you after the ceremony.\u201d<\/p>\n Her smile didn\u2019t reach her eyes.\u00a0 Her eyes were grim and hard, every bit the War President he remembered from the early days of The War.\u00a0 He never even considered telling her no.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n As it happened, the ceremony went quickly, even the boring speeches cut short by the presence of a former Commander in Chief of the United States of America.\u00a0 She spoke just as quickly.\u00a0 She\u2019d always been quick to the point, and she didn\u2019t disappoint this time.\u00a0 The cheerleaders proved the highlight of the ceremony for him and many others though, and they belted out the official Falls High chant with their very<\/em> healthy lungs while bouncing around in a dance that got the attention of every guy and quite a few women as well.\u00a0 He could have watched that all day long.\u00a0 Unfortunately, it could not last forever.<\/p>\n After the ceremony, he reunited with Taylor and Jennifer who wore knowing smiles on their face.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d he asked in an innocent tone.\u00a0 They just tilted their heads to the side, not fooled in the least by his act.\u00a0 \u201cDo you<\/em> still watch basketball for the amazing displays of sportsmanship?\u201d he asked in a pointed tone and their eyes opened wide in surprise.\u00a0 Then they giggled, wrapped their arms around his, and pulled him away from the town square, to the long ago path they\u2019d always taken to the lake that bordered the town.\u00a0 It was different than he remembered, but so was everything else.\u00a0 Still, he placed one foot in front of the other and kept up with the girls.<\/p>\n They reached the benches overlooking the beach and sat down to enjoy the light breeze.\u00a0 They\u2019d spent so much time partying on that beach in their youth, and Jack pulled in a long breath of the clean, wet, lake air.\u00a0 That smelled like home, and he shut his eyes to listen to the lapping waves washing onto the sand.<\/p>\n He heard the limo float down out of the sky and knew it wasn\u2019t theirs.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t sound right.\u00a0 But there was no danger in it.\u00a0 He smiled and remained where he was as it came to a rest.\u00a0 One door creaked open and a hard soled-shoe sunk into the sand, followed by another.\u00a0 A second door opened, and a soft voice he remembered well thanked the man for helping her out.<\/p>\n Jack let out a long breath and opened his eyes.\u00a0 He patted Taylor and Jennifer\u2019s knees before coming to his feet and turning to see the woman who had been his Commander in Chief.\u00a0 And if he wanted to be honest, he would still probably follow any order she gave, even if she wasn\u2019t, technically, in the chain of command anymore.<\/p>\n \u201cSo this is where I hear you used to party?\u201d the President asked with a smile, seemingly ignorant of the power she still held.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Jack said, determined to return her conversational tone.\u00a0 \u201cThe fire was right over there.\u00a0 Or there.\u201d\u00a0 Jack frowned in thought as he scanned the now-strange beach.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, I can\u2019t really tell.\u00a0 Everything\u2019s changed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat happens,\u201d the President whispered with a nod.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve had my share of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack pursed his lips, considering that statement for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cIt happens too much<\/em>, Ma\u2019am,\u201d he finally said in an annoyed tone.\u00a0 \u201cI liked things the way they were.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMost people did,\u201d she noted with a calm smile, but her tone suggested she didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Jack frowned and cocked his head to the side.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI ran for office to fix<\/em> things.\u201d\u00a0 She sighed and turned to look out on the lake.\u00a0 \u201cI was so sick<\/em> and tired<\/em> of the corruption<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 She shook her head.<\/p>\n Jack followed her gaze, drinking in the surface of the lake and the lapping waves.\u00a0 \u201cIs it any better now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot much.\u201d\u00a0 She shook her head and smiled at him.\u00a0 \u201cOh, it cleared up for a while.\u201d\u00a0 She shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cBut where there\u2019s power there\u2019s corruption.\u00a0 All I can really hope for is that I left it better than when I came.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack smiled.\u00a0 \u201cWell, we\u2019re still alive and free.\u00a0 That\u2019s better off than the Shang<\/em> wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n The President sighed and shook her head.<\/p>\n Jack frowned at her.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d he asked after a examining her carefully.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing.\u201d\u00a0 She shook her head again.<\/p>\n Jack\u2019s expression turned concerned and he looked to Taylor and Jennifer and they shook their heads, as uncertain as he.\u00a0 Finally he turned to Betty and she pursed her lips in thought.\u00a0 Finally she shrugged, but he could tell she was considering something very carefully.\u00a0 He frowned and turned back to the President.\u00a0 \u201cWhat wrong?\u201d he asked, suddenly far more interested in why she wanted to talk to him.<\/p>\n The President sighed and turned to face him again, her face very serious.\u00a0 \u201cYou know your kind isn\u2019t always popular right?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack swallowed, remembering the news reports about how the Ageless were unfairly taking jobs from able-bodied normal humans in the big cities.\u00a0 He\u2019d spent his life acting like he was just one of the guys, and most of the town had played along, casting a blind eye on the occasional slip, except for the rare occasions when they needed him.\u00a0 Like the time that car collapsed on Susie Williams and he\u2019d lifted it off her without even thinking to make it look like a strain.\u00a0 Her father had given him an approving nod, and her mother blubbered all over him for saving her.\u00a0 Her older sister had done\u2026so much more than that.\u00a0 But not everyone had welcomed the proof that an Ageless lived amongst them.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people are afraid that you will take over,\u201d the President said and paused until he nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re terrified you<\/em> are the future.\u00a0 Homo Stellarus.\u00a0 That you\u2019ll do to us what we did to the cavemen.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack\u2019s spine chilled at the thought.\u00a0 He looked to Taylor and Jennifer and they aimed reassuring smiles at him.\u00a0 Betty just nodded in approval when he met her gaze.\u00a0 \u201cI suppose they never considered that maybe the cavemen disappeared because we all got together and made big happy families?\u201d he asked in a sad tone.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I\u2019m sure they have,\u201d the President whispered with a wry smile.\u00a0 \u201cBut they<\/em> want to have the biggest stick, and your people have never taken well to sticks,\u201d she finished with a pointed look.<\/p>\n Jack nodded in understanding.\u00a0 \u201cI guess that makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n The President aimed a sad smile at him.\u00a0 \u201cI saw it in the Senate, and later.\u00a0 They hit Congress with bills meant to bring you under control.\u00a0 I worked with some of your people to make certain we stopped them.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack pursed his lips and examined her.\u00a0 He\u2019d never heard about those attempts, but then he\u2019d been too busy not worrying about politics.\u00a0 He had a feeling he couldn\u2019t do that any more.\u00a0 \u201cSo you know who were behind it?\u201d he asked, going straight to the point.<\/p>\n The President shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re too good at the shell game.\u00a0 All I ever knew were a handful of families.\u00a0 The rest stayed behind the curtain.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI see.\u201d\u00a0 Jack scratched his chin and peered at her.\u00a0 \u201cWhat families?\u201d<\/p>\n A small smile crept onto the President\u2019s face, but she didn\u2019t really answer his question.\u00a0 \u201cDo you trust Major Hurst?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack cocked his head to the side and stared at her.\u00a0 \u201cHe hasn\u2019t gone by that name in fifteen years,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n Her eyes locked with his and a shiver ran down his spin.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s not what I asked,\u201d she answered in a hard tone.<\/p>\n Jack swallowed and frowned at her.\u00a0 \u201cI would trust Charles with my life,\u201d he said in a deathly-serious tone.<\/p>\n The President nodded in approval, but then turned to Taylor and Jennifer.\u00a0 \u201cWould you trust him with their<\/em> lives?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack raised his eyebrows and looked to where the girls leaned back against the bench, without a care in the world.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am.\u00a0 Why do you ask?\u201d<\/p>\n The President sighed.\u00a0 \u201cBecause his family is one of the answers to your question.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack blinked, and then sighed as he understood her question.\u00a0 \u201cAnd if they wanted to control us, what better way than to get one of their own in command<\/em> of us?\u201d he asked with a wry smile.<\/p>\n The President nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThat was my question.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack smiled and turned back to watch the waves lapping across the lake.\u00a0 \u201cCharles is as trustworthy as they come,\u201d he whispered.\u00a0 \u201cHis public split with his family is even more<\/em> nasty in private.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t faked.\u201d<\/p>\n It was the President\u2019s turn to look at him with a question in her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cYou know<\/em> this?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack smiled and nodded, remembering everything that happened after they realized what he\u2019d done.\u00a0 And more than that, remembering how Charles had reacted.\u00a0 \u201cI know<\/em> it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you,\u201d the President said and turned to her security with a nod.\u00a0 He reacted by turning towards the limo she\u2019d come in on.\u00a0 \u201cNow I need to go.\u201d\u00a0 She turned to Betty and smiled.\u00a0 Betty gave her a warm smile in response.\u00a0 Then the President, Taylor, and Jennifer exchanged smiles and she turned back to Jack.\u00a0 \u201cYou be careful now.\u00a0 The War\u2019s over and they don\u2019t need you to fight the Shang for them anymore.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what they\u2019ll do, but they\u2019ll do something<\/em>.\u00a0 So be careful.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n She pursed her lips and examined him for several seconds.\u00a0 \u201cThank you,\u201d she finally said and moved to walk past him.<\/p>\n Jack came to attention at her movement and said a single word.\u00a0 \u201cMa\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n She paused, smiled at him, and returned his salute.\u00a0 \u201cCaptain.\u201d\u00a0 And then she walked to the limo door held open by her security so she could slide into it.\u00a0 The man shut the door, nodded at Jack, and took his seat in the front.\u00a0 Moments later, Jack watched the limo of the first President that ever meant a thing to him rise up into the air and fly away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hello, my name is Jack.\u00a0 Going home can be amazing.\u00a0 It can be scary.\u00a0 It can be sad.\u00a0 There are so many emotions, all dependent on how you left.\u00a0 For the prodigal son, you can be afraid, praying your parents[…]↓ Read the rest of this 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